In the Blink of an Eye
by Genevieve Kelly
Summary: This story starts right off in the middle of a case as Eric is called in to help the agents out, but almost immediately tragedy strikes and Eric's life takes a dark turn no one saw coming, especially him. His friends hope to be able to help him through it, but something even more unexpected happens and before anything can be done to fix it, the situation continues to grow worse.
1. Chapter 1

In the Blink of an Eye

Chapter One

It happened in the blink of an eye. The innocence of the one teammate, who had until that brief moment never harmed anybody, let alone even picked up a gun before except for when used in videogames, was now lost. It never should have happened and nor would it have happened if it wasn't for the NCIS team needing their lead tech operator's help in finishing a case involving the disappearance of a naval cyber warfare engineer and a supercomputer he had a hand in building.

Nell, the youngest member of the team and also a tech genius like Eric, was usually the one sent out in the field, as she was the one with field and weapons training, but Hetty had sent her out on another task that involved her travelling to DC. So, Eric was sent out to meet up with Callen, Sam, Kensi, and Deeks instead, much to his apprehension. A part of him liked being needed somewhere other than in the ops center, but for the most part, he preferred to remain where he felt the most comfortable, as well as confident, and that was, as Hetty had once said, in his chair.

The case wasn't uncommon. Within a few hours, the team had discovered that their victim had stolen a super computer that contained sensitive information with help from his colleagues, which they had planned to sell to the highest bidder. However, new information lead the NCIS team to discover that the engineer had double crossed them, then attempted to sell the equipment and information to a group of mercenaries until those he had betrayed caught up to him and killed him first.

Callen's team were able to find the engineer's team two days later, but when they arrived they found each of the engineer's friends dead on the ground, as well as a very much alive engineer, who was sitting down at the computer working to encrypt multiple files, and two other armed men left behind to guard him and clean up their mess, leading the NCIS team to the realization that there was another group of mercenaries to deal with, with possible information that could lead to a major disaster for Los Angeles.

Once the armed men were taken down, Eric was called in to take over the encryption in place of the engineer, who clammed up as he refused to cooperate with the detectives. It was also when things became much more chaotic for the NCIS teammates and hell for their happy-go-lucky, in-house geek.

"Does it seem odd to any of you that Hetty appears to be getting more and more comfortable with sending me out here in the field?" Eric asked as he arrived and walked into the warehouse, then quickly felt like he was going to be sick as soon as he saw the bodies. "Man, couldn't you guys have at least until the coroners have come to pick them up before calling me in?"

"Nell wouldn't complain," Callen responded as Eric finally turned away from the crime scene and turned his attention to the supercomputer.

The tech operator stared at the machine as he answered, "You don't know that. Even if that's true, she's better at hiding her revulsion than I am, along with a lot of other things, except for when it's a really, really awesome little piece of technology like this baby here."

Deeks looked over the machine too as he replied, "I wouldn't call this thing little. It's huge."

"What exactly are they after?" Kensi asked.

"Whatever it is, it can't be good if they went through all this trouble," Sam responded and then turned to Eric again. "Do you think you can find out if this genius here has already hacked in and given his buddies partial information so they can begin whatever the hell they're about to start?"

Eric began to type as he answered, "The information's heavily encrypted, so it's going to take me awhile to break through, but so far, there's been nothing I can't hack."

Deeks replied, "There's always a first time."

"Not for me, there isn't," Eric responded as he continued typing then abruptly stopped and looked over at his friends gravely. "What if the rest of them come back while we're still here and choose to open fire on us?"

All of a sudden, gunfire erupted all around the agents as well as Eric, who was swiftly pulled down to the ground and behind the machine for cover by Callen, while each of the field agents took their own cover behind large stacks of crates for protection and began to fire back at their attackers, though they were the ones that had the advantage as they had multiple vantage points.

"You had to say it, didn't you?" Deeks shouted out as he quickly reloaded his weapon and then continued firing. "Can anybody tell how many scumbags are firing at us?"

Sam shouted back, "Too many and they've got us pinned down. We'll run out of bullets before they do unless backup gets here fast."

Kensi answered, "I've already called. The police will be here soon. What are we doing, Callen?"

"We just keep firing," G replied as he caught sight of one of their attackers trying to sneak up on them from above, then shot the man before he could take one of his friends down first.

However, as soon as the police sirens could be heard in the background, the teammates heard shouting coming from their attackers, then watched as those that they could see from their covers suddenly began to pull out and start to leave. Once they were all gone, the agents stood slowly with their guns still raised as they looked around.

"What just happened?" Sam asked in confusion. "They had us cold and the police haven't even arrived yet?"

"Apparently, they really weren't willing to risk getting caught," Kensi responded when all of a sudden, a final shot rang out causing everyone to jump, then quickly turned around to look where it had come from, only to watch as the engineer that the agents had taken down when they had first arrived fell down dead, a gun dropping down on the ground beside him.

It was then that they saw Eric also holding up a gun as he continued to crouch down on the ground in fear, staring down at the now dead man in shock as he had just killed him. The agents looked down at their friend in surprise until Kensi slowly walked over and carefully took the weapon out of his hands, noticing that it wasn't one of theirs, and handed it up to her partner, then gently placed a hand on the side of Eric's face in hope of drawing back his attention, while the others gathered around them.

She spoke softly, "Eric, it's going to be fine. Are you all right?"

The younger man didn't say anything at first until Kensi spoke his name again, then he finally looked into her eyes and between his friends as he struggled to answer, "I don't… He woke up and I saw him pull out… another gun. He was going to kill Cal… Callen. I killed him. I killed him."


	2. Chapter 2

In the Blink of an Eye

Chapter Two

That was all Eric said until he suddenly stopped speaking to anyone, as well as avoided any eye contact. The agents became worried for their friend, as they each had a pretty good idea what was going through his head. Once the police arrived at the scene, the NCIS agents allowed them to take charge in dealing with the bodies while they travelled back to their headquarters, with Eric so that they would be able to talk with Hetty about what just happened. It certainly wasn't going to be an easy conversation.

As they walked into the main room, Hetty slowly approached them, mainly Eric, but before she could say anything to him, he looked at her sadly, then shook his head, and walked off toward the ops center. Callen started to go after him, but stopped himself when Sam placed a hand on his shoulder.

Then Hetty turned to the rest of the team she had carefully put together and asked, "What exactly happened out there? Mr. Callen? Mr. Hanna?"

Sam replied somberly, "It wasn't long after we got there that we were surrounded by a number of heavily armed men who began shooting at us. We're assuming that they were the same mercenaries that had killed our missing engineer's previous team, looking to kill us too so that they could continue whatever it is they had planned with the engineer's supercomputer. They had us pinned down, but they took off as soon as they heard the police sirens. We thought everything was fine until we heard another shot and saw the engineer collapse to the ground dead and Eric holding a gun."

"A gun that we think the engineer had pulled out to try to finish us for his new friends," Deeks continued. "We didn't think to check him as we didn't necessarily consider him much of a threat."

"Much of a threat?" Hetty repeated angrily. "Eric had to kill a man today. He obviously was a threat."

Everyone looked away in shame, then Callen spoke up as he responded sincerely, "He killed him to save me. If he hadn't, I would be dead on the warehouse's floor like the rest of the scum back there."

Hetty looked at the team's leader and answered, "Yes, maybe so and thank goodness you all are okay, but I prayed that Eric, of all of you, would never have to learn what it feels like to kill. He was never trained for this and he certainly wasn't made for this kind of lifestyle like the rest of you are. He has a very sensitive soul. If there's anyone to blame for this, then it's me."

The older woman walked off to find their tech operator, leaving the others behind, and when she found him, Eric was hunkered down in his chair, staring blankly toward the large screen in front of him. Hetty didn't speak as she slowly approached him and stood beside him. Instead, she just waited, hoping that the young man would speak first.

"I never should have… I never should have started going out into the field," Eric said quietly, not turning his head to look at her. "I belong here, in my chair where I can't cause anyone any trouble."

"But you haven't caused us any trouble, Mr. Beale," Hetty replied as she looked over at him. "Why ever would you think that?"

He replied, "Because, by doing what I did, you and the others will most likely be under scrutiny and an inquiry will be opened."

Hetty shook her head as she responded, "You saved Callen's life. What you did took a tremendous amount of bravery and I am so proud of you. If Granger or anyone else wants to open an inquiry or fault you and the rest of our team for any wrong doing, then let them."

"Proud?" Eric asked, then stood up, and looked at her with sadness and fear in his eyes as he continued angrily. "I killed a man, Hetty! I told you the first time I was asked to go out into the field that I didn't ever think I could kill anybody. Now I know that I can and I hate myself for it. How am I supposed to recover from that? I'm not like the rest of them."

"I know you don't think you can, but in time, what you're feeling will dissipate," Hetty answered, hoping she could get through to the young man. "You're right. You are not like the others. You were not trained to harm anyone in the midst of battle, let alone to fire a weapon and I am so sorry that you were forced into this situation. I never should have…"

Eric interrupted, "You're right and I never will be put in this position again because I will no longer be here for you to ask. I'm done. It isn't because I don't love you guys and love working here because believe me, I do, but I can't do it anymore. I'm not… I just can't do it anymore. I'm sorry, Hetty."

As soon as he finished, Eric ran from the room carrying his backpack over one shoulder, leaving Hetty standing there bewildered. It was then that Callen, Sam, Kensi, and Deeks walked into the ops center looking confused as they wondered why Eric had just bolted past them in such a hurry without saying a word.

Kensi looked at Hetty as she asked, "Is everything all right? Eric looked awful."

"No, Miss. Blye," Hetty replied sadly. "Everything's not all right, least of all, Eric. I'm afraid he's just left us."

"Left us; you mean he quit?" Callen asked in confusion. "But why would he do that?"

Hetty looked at the agents as she responded sadly, "Because, he's lost all confidence in himself and he hates himself for what he's done."

Sam shook his head sadly and then asked, "So what do we do?"

"How do we help him?" Callen retranslated his partner's question.

"First, we need to get Nell back here straight away and clue her in on everything that's happened," Hetty answered calmly. "I'll call Nate in as well, but Miss. Jones may be the only one who can help Eric pull through this. You four need to focus right now on finding our mercenaries so we can bring them to justice and make sure that they can't use whatever information they have already gathered, if any, against our city."

Hetty then walked out of the room to head back to her office, after which Deeks spoke up saying, "I remember the first time, I killed somebody. I must have thrown up a dozen times. At least Eric was able to hold in his stomach contents. Of course, I did just finish eating lunch then."

Kensi just looked over at her partner and shook her head in disdain, then said, "I can only imagine what Eric's going through right now. We killed the guards left behind to watch over the engineer along with the one shooter that tried to sneak up on us and now the engineer is dead too. What do we do next?"

"We wait for the ids of our dead mercenaries and maybe they'll help us figure out who the rest of them are or where they might have disappeared to," Callen replied. "If not, then we do whatever it takes to track them down and either arrest them or kill them."

"Doing so might help Eric a little too," Sam responded. "Back to the crime scene then?"

Deeks quickly asked, "Wait, why are we going back there again? The bodies will be at the morgue by now."

Callen answered, "We're going back for the supercomputer, if we can figure out a way to transport it. Since it's what our killers want, we're going to take possession of it and wait for them to come back to try to steal it again. I don't doubt that they won't try. Plan B."


	3. Chapter 3

In the Blink of an Eye

Chapter Three

Later that evening, Nate, once the team's psychologist until he was reassigned, arrived at the address that Hetty had given him for Eric and wasn't surprised to find that it was an old beach house, as Eric had mentioned on a number of occasions that he loved to surf early in the morning before coming into work. Nate had never been to the tech operator's place and he suspected that Nell was probably the only one on the team who had. Eric struggled to connect with the rest of the team for a number of reasons and the doctor realized that they probably hadn't ever made much of an effort to connect with him.

Nate knocked twice on his front door and when Eric didn't answer, he thought that the younger man might be out in the ocean somewhere, but as he turned around to leave, he looked along the beach and finally saw Eric sitting in the sand a few feet away, staring out over the water.

The doctor slowly approached him and without saying a word, took a seat beside Eric, who didn't even flinch as he did so, but Nate's silence didn't last long as he spoke up first saying, "You certainly do have a beautiful place here. How are the waves this evening?"

Eric still didn't turn to look at him as he answered, "They're amazing. My house is worn and old, no matter what I do to fix it up, but the view makes living here totally worth it. I should have known Hetty would send you here. I didn't think you were in town."

"I got back from the Middle East almost a week ago," Nate replied. "I meant to come and visit you guys sooner, but I've been busy."

"Then you shouldn't waste your time here with me," Eric responded despondently. "I'm not going to change my mind about quitting. I can't do it anymore."

Nate looked over at his friend as he answered, "I didn't come here to convince you to come back to work. I came here to talk, in hope of trying to help you cope with the terrible thing you were forced to do this morning."

Eric finally looked back at Nate as he chuckled and then replied, "I killed someone. I know that Sam, Callen, Kensi, and Deeks have to do it quite often, but I'm not them. The engineer was a bad guy, but out there somewhere there are people that cared about him, loved him, and now they'll suffer a loss because of me. How am I supposed to cope with that, to get over that?"

"Because we all have the ability to move past anything, no matter how tragic the circumstance is, if we allow ourselves to," Nate responded. "Your compassion and the pain you're feeling right now is what makes you human. You can get through this, Eric. And once you feel that you have, then you can decide whether or not to return to work, though I'm getting the feeling that there's more to your decision to quit. Am I right?"

"I don't know," Eric answered as he turned away again.

Nate continued to look at him as he replied, "I think you do. Please, talk to me."

Eric responded, "What exactly do you want me to say? That I'm not good enough to be a part of our team? That I'm not as good as I pretend to be?"

"No, because you are as good as you've said you are and you know it," Nate answered. "In fact, you're better and Nell would be the first one to admit that. Computers and all that genius stuff you do is not what's the problem here. Until now, you were one of the most confident people I've ever seen. You don't consider Nell, Callen, Sam, Kensi, or Deeks killers even though they've killed a number of people, yet you now think you are and it really terrifies you."

"We're just going around in circles now," Eric replied as he stood up and brushed the sand off his clothes, as did Nate. "I really can't do this right now. I appreciate you coming by to check on me, but I'm tired."

Nate responded, "I'm here for you any time you need me. Please, call me when you're ready to talk."

The tech operator nodded and then answered, "All right. Thank you, Nate. I mean it. I am grateful you came by to make sure I was all right. I just… I'm still trying to register everything that happened this morning; trying to figure out if there was anything else I could have done."

"You saved Callen's life today and it was a righteous kill," Nate replied. "You have nothing to be ashamed of."

"I wish I could believe that," Eric responded, then walked away, leaving Nate behind as he watched the younger man until he entered his house, disappearing from view.

Meanwhile…

Somewhere in an apartment building across town that housed a large number of drug addicts and stoners, the mercenaries that had shot up the warehouse they had stashed the supercomputer and the engineer in, while trying to kill the four agents, were all busy regrouping after they had all dispersed in order to escape from the cops. The leader of the large group was angry and screaming at his men, as because his plans had fallen apart and now had just found out that the man they had hired to break the supercomputer's encryption was now dead and not in the agents' custody.

One of the men spoke up saying, "I don't know how NCIS found us so quickly, Devlin. Most likely it was because Mitch's old team got sloppy and didn't cover their tracks well enough. Now that he's dead, what's next?"

Devlin punched his fist into the table, causing it to break, then answered angrily, "We need to take back the computer from the police, just like we stole it before and I don't care what it takes to do it. I won't stop now."

"We're all with you," his right hand man replied. "You know that, but even if we are successful, Mitch is dead. How are we supposed to get the information that we need from the computer?"

"We need to find us someone else who can get us what we need," the leader answered smugly. "I need you to find out who else has the knowledge to encrypt the information from the lab it was stolen from in the first place. If there isn't anyone else there, find me someone that can."


	4. Chapter 4

In the Blink of an Eye

Chapter Four

Just as Callen had predicted, the city's coroners couldn't identify the men killed back at the warehouse. They were mercenaries that were well trained and who knew how to make sure that they couldn't be found out. So, Callen and Sam drove to the station of the officers who had taken charge of the supercomputer until it was to be released back to the lab where it had been stolen from by its engineer, Mitch Calder.

"Excuse us, we're with NCIS, here to collect the supercomputer you took in earlier today," Sam spoke up as he and his partner walked up to one of the policemen in the reception area of the station. "We called and spoke with your supervisor earlier."

"I'll go let her know if you'll wait here," the man responded and then walked away.

Another one of the officers spoke up from behind them and said, "I hope you guys have an easier time transporting that monstrosity than we did."

Callen smirked, then replied, "We'll manage. We've got some help."

"Unfortunately, you'll have to send them back," the supervisor of that department stated as she walked into the room.

"What are you talking about?" Callen asked in confusion. "We'll need them to help us transport the supercomputer back to our headquarters."

The woman stood in front of them as she answered unhappily, "I'm afraid not. Somehow, your computer has gone missing after we had it transported back here. Rest assured, I am looking into the disappearance with everything at my disposal. I'm Sergeant Williams by the way."

Sam responded coldly, "The only way it could have been stolen would be if your thieves had help from someone here inside your department. That computer is the key to stopping what is most likely a plot to cause chaos and massive panic here in Los Angeles. If it isn't found and that happens, then you will be the one that is held responsible."

"Not to mention us," Callen said firmly. "How long ago did you find it was taken?"

"Just after you called," Williams replied. "I am sorry, gentlemen. I really do hope that you can stop whatever our thieves are planning in time. I do believe you're right about them having inside help and when I find out who it was, I will make sure that they are punished to the full extent of the law."

Callen answered, "That doesn't make us feel any better. As soon as you do discover your mole, you will turn him over to us for our own interrogation."

The sergeant responded angrily, "When he or she is discovered, they will be dealt with in house. It is only right. The traitor is one of ours, not yours."

"If you'll forgive us, that is precisely why we'll be the ones to talk to the traitor," Callen replied coldly as he moved to stand directly in front of her and stared off with her. "Besides, we've got a bit more riding on solving this mess than you."

"And what exactly is that?" she asked.

Sam answered for his partner, "A friend of ours' peace of mind."

A short time later, Hetty was sitting at her desk when Nell walked in and stood in front of her, then Hetty stated, "Welcome back, Miss. Jones. It's unfortunate that the circumstances are so dire."

"I stopped by Eric's as soon as I arrived back here," the youngest member of the team responded sadly. "But he wasn't home and he wasn't out on the beach or in the water. I'm worried about him, Hetty. I should have been the one who was there, not him."

"You're absolutely right," Hetty replied sadly. "Though, I would never wish for you to ever kill again either. I have no doubt that in time, Eric will be all right, even if he doesn't come back to work with us again. He is stronger than he knows himself to be."

Nell nodded, not really sure if she could believe Hetty, then spoke up again as she asked, "What can I do?"

Callen and Sam walked in as he answered, "You can help us find the mercenaries and the traitor within the LAPD that are responsible for all of this."

"It's good to have you back, Nell," Sam spoke up. "We're going to need you to work your magic."

"You guys are giving me way too much credit," Nell responded in frustration. "How is it that you all still underestimate how much Eric does for us? I may be the one trained for the field and know how to hack computers, surveillance cameras, and traffic lights, but Eric is much better at it than me. I wouldn't be able to do what I do without him."

Nate, Kensi and Deeks walked over to them after they heard that their teammates had returned and overheard Nell as she raised her voice, then Kensi replied, "We know that, Nell. He is every bit as valuable to our team as the rest of us."

Callen agreed as he said, "We don't really make it clear, which might be part of the reason why Eric is having such a hard time dealing with this, and that's on us, but right now we need to focus on…"

"What is it, Mr. Callen?" Hetty asked as he suddenly received an urgent text message, followed by the rest of the agents as well, one right after the other.

"It's Eric," Deeks stated quickly. "He's in trouble."

Hetty looked at her own message, then looked between the four agents as she quickly answered, "Go, go, all of you! Bring him back here right away!"

By the time the agents arrived where Eric's message had said for them to come, they came upon a crime scene outside of an electronics store that was surrounded by several police, a large number of onlookers, as well a few paramedics who were attending to a few bystanders that appeared to have been injured.

Callen, Sam, Kensi, and Deeks pushed their way through the crowd and ran over to the officer that appeared in charge as Kensi asked, "What happened here?"

"Most of the witnesses believed at first that it was a robbery here in the electronics store, but after three armed men wearing masks broke in and began shooting up the place, they soon abducted one of the store's customers, who tried to fight back, and took off in a black, unmarked van," the man responded. "We got here as soon as the calls came in, but we were too late. There was only this mess and a small number of witnesses that remained behind, at least three of them being injured."

"The person that was abducted, was he a young man with glasses and most likely wearing shorts and flip flops?" Sam asked one of the witnesses who was currently being treated for a gunshot wound in his shoulder.

The man only nodded at Sam, who then turned back to his friends as Callen spoke up saying, "Damn it! Because their man that was working for them to unlock the supercomputer's encryption was killed, the mercenaries must have decided that they needed to find someone else that could complete the job. They must have learned about Eric somehow and then followed him until they decided to kidnap him."

Deeks asked, "You don't think it was out of revenge then, on Eric for having killed their engineer?"

"No way," Sam replied firmly. "Mitch Calder was just someone our killers enlisted to do their dirty work, whom they probably didn't care if he died once he finished."

"The reason doesn't matter," Callen continued. "But they are going to hurt Eric in order to get him to do whatever they want. We have to find him as soon as possible."

Deeks looked around the computer store and kept his eyes trained on one spot within the store as he asked, "Do you guys see what I see?"

As the others all turned to look, Kensi smiled as she answered, "A surveillance camera. At least it's a start. Hopefully Nell can find us something that can help."


	5. Chapter 5

In the Blink of an Eye

Chapter Five

While Nell focused on hacking into the surveillance from back at headquarters, the four agents remained at the crime scene as Kensi and Deeks worked to question each of the witnesses, hoping that they might be able to share information about their suspects and Callen and Sam began to question the owner and an employee of the electronics store in order to find out if they had spoken to their friend.

The owner spoke up saying, "We both know Eric pretty well. I met him years ago before he started working for, well for you guys, while surfing and he's a regular here."

Sam observed the surroundings, noticing the oddly decorated shack like store, then replied, "Somehow that doesn't surprise me much. Let me guess, he used to help you out of a parking ticket or two by hacking into the police database?"

"That was a long time ago," the owner answered in Eric's defense. "He hasn't done anything like that for me or the rest of my employees ever since."

"Don't worry," Callen responded. "He uses his skills for us now. He's a friend. Is there anything you can tell us that might help us track down the men that took him? Anything at all, even if it's as small as a tattoo or a scar?"

The employee standing beside the owner replied, "Well, there wasn't a tattoo or a scar, but I did notice a patch on his jacket, a small one on his right shoulder. I don't know if it will be of any significance, but…"

Sam interrupted, "What did this patch look like?"

"It was a black dragon inside a triangle," the kid said. "The jacket looked worn and fairly old."

"That's great," Sam answered as he pulled out his phone and dialed Nell's number, then when she picked up he quickly asked, "Hey Nell, we think we might have something that could help us track down one of the thugs that kidnapped Eric. Can you look up something for us?"

Nell quickly responded, "_Yeah. What have you got?_"

The ex navy seal replied, "One of our witnesses said that he noticed one of the men wearing some kind of patch on the shoulder on an old, worn down jacket. It's a black dragon inside a triangle. That's it. It's possible that it's an old gang insignia."

"_Actually, you're exactly right,_" Nell answered as she ran her fingers across her computer keys. "_It belonged to an Asian American gang here in Los Angeles that called themselves the Black Dragons. It appears that they disbanded back in 2002 when the FBI created a special task force that convicted multiple members after a three year investigation. Are you saying that there may still be a small group of these thugs that are behind all this and have Eric?_"

"We don't know, but can you look up any known associates and their arrest records in order to see if any of them have been released?" Sam responded. "It's also possible that only one of these guys split himself off from his old friends and joined whoever's in charge of all this."

Nell continued typing as she replied, "_I would guess it's the latter because it looks like there's only a small number of ex gang members that were released from prison several years ago for whatever reason and that are still alive. Most of them were killed off. I'm sending you the list._"

Sam spoke again saying, "You're the best, Nell."

Deeks walked over to them and said, "Well that questioning was a total bust. No one noticed anything, not that I really blame them, seeing as our kidnappers came in here shooting up the place. They're all still really shaken up. What'd you guys get?"

"A possible lead on one of our scumbags," Callen answered as another message popped up on his phone. "And it looks like Nell and Hetty found something from the surveillance footage. It's time to head back."

"That's great because we've totally got nothing," Kensi responded as she walked over as well. "Except, one of the witnesses said that Eric really put up a hell of a fight until one of our guys tased him in the neck."

Sam felt the tension between his teammates and then replied, "He's going to be fine. He's a lot tougher than he looks."

Callen agreed saying, "Sam's right. We just have to do what we've always done in any other case."

Twenty-five minutes later…

"It's good that you're back," Nell said sadly, as she had seen the footage of her partner roughly being taken and then knocked unconscious with a taser to his neck. "The video is awful, which you can watch all of it yourselves later, but there's something you need to see. Eric left us a message before they spotted him, as he looked directly into the camera. However, it's in sign language."

"It is the best way of communicating when words can't be spoken," Hetty continued.

Deeks quickly asked, "Unless one of us knows how to sign, which I would honestly be very surprised if that was the case, then the message is useless."

Hetty answered, "We may not be able to sign, but it turns out that we have a friend who does fluently and she's only a quick text call and soon to be video chat away."

"_Oh my goodness, Nell, it is so good to hear from you again,_" Abby from NCIS in D.C. stated as she suddenly appeared on the main screen after having been sent a text from Nell. "_What's going on out there in the sunny winter wonderland? Hi guys! What's hangin'?_"

"We actually need your help with translating a message in sign language, Abbs," Nell responded. "Something's…"

Abby cut her off as she asked, "_Why aren't you asking Eric? He's actually better at signing than me, though please don't tell him I said that, unless of course he's there and in that case…_"

Hetty stopped her as she quickly replied, "Unfortunately, we need your help because Mr. Beale has been taken, Miss. Sciuto."

"_Oh… taken as in kidnapped, but who would do that?_" she asked in shock. "_I mean, this is Eric we're talking about. He's the sweetest person you'll ever meet. He would never hurt a fly._"

"A lot has happened," Hetty answered grimly. "Nell has sent you the video. Can you translate what Eric is trying to tell us? It's rather urgent."

Abby appeared to look over at another computer screen as she watched the footage and gasped, then responded, "_Yeah. He's telling you that you need to take a look at his home computer. That's it._"

Sam replied, "I don't understand. Why would he tell us that?"

"Something tells me that even though Eric may have quit working here, he didn't quit altogether, and it appears that he's found something," Hetty answered. "You four must get to his home immediately. We need that computer."

"We're on it," Callen responded as he and the others rushed out of the ops center.

Nell looked back up at the computer screen as she spoke up to the spunky, Goth computer tech saying, "Thank you, Abby."

Abby saluted as she stated, "_It's what I do. Now find our surf loving, computer hacking, happy-go-lucky friend of ours before those criminals try to destroy everything that makes him our boy. If Gibbs were here, he'd say we don't waste good and that's exactly what Eric is; good._"

"You are absolutely right, Miss. Sciuto," Hetty said. "As are you."


	6. Chapter 6

In the Blink of an Eye

Chapter Six

Eric slowly awoke and immediately felt pain in his head and neck, mostly due to the shock that had coursed through him when he was tasered. His body also hurt, which he figured was because the men, whom he quickly remembered as he struggled to break free from the bonds tying his hands and feet together, didn't care to be gentle when they dragged him out from his hiding place behind one of the shelves in the computer store, then out to their van before he was knocked unconscious.

When he found that he couldn't free himself, Eric slowly looked around his newfound prison, though he couldn't see much as, from about as much as he could tell was, the small room he lay on the ground in was mostly dark. Only a glimmer of sun could be seen, as it shined in from a bared window above him. If the sun was up, it meant that he had been unconscious all night and it was now the next day.

While he lay, Eric tried to focus on why these men might have kidnapped him, but was soon interrupted as a door opened, and he was suddenly dragged out, then shoved into a chair that rested in the middle of a wide open room, with the exception of the same supercomputer he had worked on the day before, before the shootout. The cords that bound him moments ago were swiftly removed as his wrists were then bound down against the chairs' armrests and one of his legs was locked into a shackle that was chained to the floor.

"It's good to see that you're finally awake," one of the men spoke up saying as he approached Eric and stood before him. "I was beginning to wonder if my friend had the voltage of his taser up too high. You've been unconscious all night long."

"So I gathered," Eric answered quietly. "Why have you kidnapped me? I haven't done anything to you or anyone else."

The man smiled and then responded, "Actually, Eric Beale is it? You killed the only other man we knew that has the skills to get what we need from this computer, at least that's what one of my men here tells me. You see, he remained behind at the scene yesterday. I told him to follow behind those NCIS agents you were with to see where they were going to take Calder, but he said that you shot him."

Eric quickly cut in as he replied, "He was going to kill one of my friends. The others didn't see Calder pull out another gun that was attached to his ankle and so I had no choice, but to act. I didn't want to kill him. I didn't mean to kill him. It just happened."

"Which is why you're here now," the man said. "Clearly, you were brought in to help your friends when Calder refused to cooperate with them. You can do what he could. You can encrypt the data in the computer's files."

"I can't do that," Eric answered nervously, then again with a little more courage. "I won't help you."

All of a sudden, his kidnapper swiftly backhanded him hard across his face, then stood back and smiled as he responded, "You say so now, but in time you'll do what we ask. We have something that'll get you to do whatever it is we need you to do against your will if you so choose. It's up to you how you want this to be."

Eric fought against the pain from the hit and then slowly looked back up at the man still standing before him as he asked, "What is it that you want from this machine? Who are you?"

"You can call me, Devlin," the criminal replied. "Mitch Calder helped to build this miraculous machine, but then the project was given to another technician to build the encryptions that are keeping me locked out."

"Then why didn't you find and kidnap him?" Eric asked again fearfully. "Not that that's what I want, but why me?"

As he knelt down in front of Eric in order to make himself appear at his eye level, Devlin answered coldly, "Because he's dead. He died from a heart attack shortly after he finished. If you ask me, he's the lucky one. You're going to finish breaking the encryption because you're the only one left that we know of who can, just as I said before. Then, you're going to locate the names and known whereabouts of each of the hidden operatives within the Navy, so we can take them out. Now, are you going to help us willingly, or are we going to have to force you to? I promise you, you won't like our alternative means, but believe me, either way is perfectly fine with me."

Every part of him was screaming for him to agree because he was terrified of what these men had in mind for him if he didn't, but then he'd never forgive himself if innocent men and women died because he gave in and neither would his friends and teammates; neither would Nell and so Eric looked directly into his captive's eyes as he nervously responded, "I won't help you. I don't care if you have to resort to some kind of drug, but I won't make it easy on you."

Devlin only smiled, then stood up, and motioned to one of his men standing nearby, who turned toward a small table beside him and picked up a syringe as he squirted out some of its liquid in order to get rid of the air within it. He then handed it over to Devlin, who then leaned down over Eric and injected the drug into the crook of his arm, despite his struggle to keep the criminal from doing so, to no avail.

Eric began to feel the drug's effects almost immediately as his vision began to blur, he began to feel dizzy, agitated, confused, and his mouth became dry. Devlin stood back and watched as the young man fought against the drug's effects, then walked over and whispered something to all, but one of his men. When he finished, they all walked out of the room, Devlin and his right hand being the only two that remained behind.

"Once the drug sets in, you won't have any choice, but to do whatever I say," Devil said coldly. "Soon you'll be completely under my control. I really love scopolamine. It's a shame that it's not legal, but then again, where would the fun in that be? We'll be back in a while. I've got something I have to do. For now, you'll just have to enjoy the hallucinations that come along. I'll see you later."


	7. Chapter 7

In the Blink of an Eye

Chapter Seven

Nell sat in the back seat of Kensi and Deeks' car as the three of them headed to Eric's home, along with Nate, who tagged along because Hetty asked him to so that he could speak with Nell and because the extra eyes couldn't hurt when working together to find whatever it was Eric intended for them to see.

Nate kept looking over at the youngest member of the team out of the corner of his eyes, not wanting to start the conversation while in the car, until Nell spoke up for him saying, "If you keep looking at me like that, you'll end up going cross eyed. I'm fine."

Nate responded, "Maybe for now you are, but you've been running like crazy going through all that surveillance footage and other things. As soon as you run out of things to do, all you'll have left is the wait. Nothing, but waiting and worrying and though I haven't seen the two of you work together much, I get the sense that you and Eric are close."

"Are you kidding me?" Deeks quickly spoke up sarcastically. "They finish each others' sentences all the time. It's almost disturbing how in sync the two of you are."

"Only to you," Kensi answered. "I think it's cute."

Deeks looked over at his partner as he replied, "Of all people, I wouldn't think you would. You're the most unromantic person I know. You…"

Nell suddenly cut him off as she raised her voice and said, "Hey, Eric and I aren't in love. I like him, as a friend; he's my best friend, and we work great together, but that's it. Maybe you're right about my fear for him, Nate. Of course I'm worried for him, but so are the rest of us, including Hetty. I just want to do my job and get him back. End of story."

"All right, I've done my duty," Nate responded. "Do any of you have any idea what Eric could have possibly found from his house?"

"He's got better than a state of the art computer system," Nell answered as they finally arrived. "He could hack into the CIA databases or into the vaults in Fort Knox if he wanted to."

Kensi replied, "It's a good thing that he's on our side then. Let's just hope that we can find him before the criminals that took him force him to do for them what he does for us."

Nate noticed the worry across Nell's face deepen, knowing that she suddenly thought about his captors torturing the young tech operator until he couldn't take it anymore and give in. She may not fully admit to her friends how she truly felt about Eric, not to them and certainly not to Eric himself, but they all knew that she cared about him deeper than just a friendship. Nate also knew she would never forgive herself for not telling him how she really felt if Eric didn't come back.

After walking inside and looking over the place, including at the computers hooked up within the den, Deeks spoke again saying, "I can't believe I've never been over here before. This place is cool, maybe a little worn down, but seeing as his equipment is this nice, it's not that surprising. We should totally have a beach party here soon, you know, after we get him back of course."

"I'm sure he would love that," Nell responded quietly as she took a seat at Eric's computers and began typing to get past Eric's security he had in place.

"Do you know all his passwords or something?" Kensi asked after Nell got through much quicker than she would have thought Nell could.

Nell smiled as she answered, "They're not really that hard to figure out, not for me."

As Nell began to search through all the files, Deeks asked, "About how long will this take?"

"Seeing as I have no idea what I'm looking for… actually, I think I do," she replied until she cut herself off when she found something promising. "It looks like Eric was looking deep into Mitch Calder. This engineer was certainly a genius."

"Yet he wasn't smart enough to turn down whatever offer our bad guys made him," Deeks responded. "Why exactly is that always the case?"

Nate answered quickly, "Greed. Our guys probably offered him a substantial amount of money."

Deeks replied, "And look at how that turned out for him."

"Eric found evidence of Calder getting into a pretty big argument with this man, who looks to be threatening him," Nell said as she brought up footage from a security camera within his lab, allowing the agents and psychologist to watch as well. "The guy did a pretty good job at hiding his face from the camera, but Eric managed to catch it in a reflection and then ran the image through a number of databases. Whoa, this guy's a cop with the LAPD; Officer Collin Kitchell. There's also a check that was deposited into one of Calder's bank accounts in the amount of $100,000.00 and it's signed with the initials, CK."

"Callen and Sam said that they suspected there's a mole within the LAPD, who helped the mercenaries get the supercomputer back," Kensi responded. "This must be him."

Deeks spoke up again saying, "I'll give the guys a call."

Nate asked, "If Eric discovered evidence like this, then why didn't he inform you right away? I mean, I know that he had quit, but… What was he waiting for?"

"And why would he go out to a computer store when he's got all this?" Kensi asked as well.

"Because, he was going there to meet up with a friend of his that claimed he had some information regarding the stolen computer," Nell answered as she read an email sent to her partner shortly before he was kidnapped last evening. "Oh my God! Eric's friend that works at the computer store also works for the mercenaries."

Kensi replied, "Eric was somehow targeted and set up to be kidnapped at a specific time and place because of his friend and this Officer Kitchell."

Kensi responded coldly, "Then, they'll pay. We will find them and get them to tell us where Eric is. We've got the friend at the store. Sam and Callen can try to find Kitchell. Good work, Nell."

"It was all Eric," the youngest answered sadly. "Nate and I will get another ride back. Just go do whatever you have to do. Please, find him."

"We will," Kensi replied as Deeks came back over to them after getting off the phone with their teammates. "We've got good leads and leverage now to convince them to cooperate, at least our store owner. He didn't seem like he'd be able to hold up against an interrogation for long."


	8. Chapter 8

In the Blink of an Eye

Chapter Eight

"Got it," Callen replied as he was about to end his call with Deeks, who explained to him and Sam what he and Kensi had just learned. "Thanks. Keeps us informed once you find out from our friend at the computer store has to say for himself. We'll be in touch."

"Eric's friend working for whoever's behind all this probably explains how they knew about Eric," Sam said after his partner hung up. "What are the odds that the person responsible for killing their computer genius happens to be the same person who is kidnapped because he is friends with one of the mercenaries' friends?"

Callen nodded and then responded, "Or at the very least, he's the reason why they were able to find him, then lure him to them. I'm guessing that they left at least one of their men behind at the shootout yesterday to keep an eye on what happened next. It would explain how they knew their man was dead and needed a replacement so quickly. None of this is really odd at all, just full of coincidences."

As they got into their car, Sam spoke again as he asked, "So, how are we going to handle this once we get to the police department?"

"Exactly how we would handle this if this were any other case," Callen answered in frustration.

"Yeah, but this isn't like any other case, G.," Sam replied. "A friend of ours' life is at stake and now we know for sure that a cop is involved."

Callen responded, "Maybe so, but that doesn't change anything. We need to speak with Sergeant Williams."

Sam answered, "She'll want to handle the investigation in house. We need to be the ones to deal with him, or the LAPD will end up caring mostly for protecting his public image as well as their own, rather than caring to save Eric. We need to find him and interrogate him ourselves."

"We need to handle this correctly," Callen replied. "But we also need to be sure to let her know that we won't allow them to get in our way in case they refuse to cooperate with us fully. You don't suppose we'll get lucky and our scumbag will decide to help us without much of a fight?"

"When are we ever that lucky?" Sam responded sarcastically.

It was then that the two agents pulled into the precinct's lot as they noticed a number of its officers walking in and out, one of whom being the officer they happened to be looking for, thanks to a photo of the man sent to them over their phones from Nell, and Callen spoke up as he answered, "He probably won't help us out without coercion, but at least we won't have a hard time tracking him down."

Sam quickly stated, "That's if we don't lose him. Let's get him, partner."

Callen and Sam observed him from a distance as they slowly walked closer to him, but it wasn't long before he noticed them and took off running, just like any other suspect usually did, so the agents ran after him, knowing that if they did lose him, then Eric's chances of getting out of his nightmare alive decreased drastically.

Officer Kitchell ran hard through traffic and into the surrounding bystanders in hope of escaping, but thankfully the agents' wills and need gave them the speed and strength they needed to finally catch up to him and take him down, as Callen tackled him hard to the ground after he had gotten struck by a bicyclist.

"I'm guessing I was right about him remaining behind at the warehouse to keep watch," Callen casually said, then pulled the cop up off the ground, shoved him hard up against a nearby car to cuff him, and pulled him around to face him, his face suddenly growing cold. "It explains how you recognized us before you ran. You and your friends kidnapped our friend. You're going to tell us where he is."

"You're wrong," Kitchell replied smugly. "I'm not going to tell you anything you want to hear. I won't deny I was there yesterday at the warehouse. And you were right that I stayed behind after the rest of my friends took off before the rest of the police showed up. I watched your computer tech shoot and kill ours. I saw his fear after what he had just done, as well as his regret after talking with him. What makes you think he's still alive?"

Callen shoved the man harder against wall as he responded angrily, "Because you need him to do what your man couldn't finish. It's why you took him. Where is he?"

Sam spoke up as he added, "Tell us and we'll tell your other boss you cooperated. She may be more lenient with you than we will be if you refuse and Eric dies."

"As far as I'm concerned, I only have one boss and Sergeant Williams isn't it," the man answered. "Go ahead and arrest me. I'll be out in no time and there's nothing you'll be able to do about it. And just so you know, right now your friend is cooperating. Once we get what we need from him, we'll kill him."

"We have a right to hold you for forty-eight hours, which is all we need to get the information we want out of you," Callen replied. "Collin Kitchell, you're under arrest for the kidnapping of NCIS's tech operator, Eric Beale. We'll figure out the rest of the charges later. I'm sure the list will eventually grow to be quite extensive and if one of them becomes murder, you'll end up having more than just me and my partner here to deal with."

Kitchell smiled and then responded smugly, "I look forward to meeting the rest of your teammates."

Meanwhile…

When Devlin walked back into the large room where he had left Eric still bound to the chair in front of the supercomputer, followed by the man that acted as his right hand, he came over to the young man and knelt down in front of him as he spoke up asking, "How are we feeling, Mr. Beale?"

Eric's head was resting on his chest, but when the man before him spoke, he slowly lifted it up and stared blankly at Devlin, then answered, "I'm tired and feeling strange."

"That's to be expected," his kidnapper replied. "Are you feeling cooperative?"

"What do you need me to do?" Eric asked.

"I need you to do what I asked you to do earlier, when you weren't so obedient," Devlin responded. "Do you think you can do that for me now?"

Eric looked down at his bound wrists, then back at his kidnapper as he answered, "I'll need my hands, but yes. There's not a machine I can't break into."

Devlin smiled and as he worked to untie the cords binding Eric to his chair, he said, "Very good. Now get to work. I look forward to seeing if you're as good as I've been told. More than one life depends on you now."


	9. Chapter 9

In the Blink of an Eye

Chapter Nine

While Eric silently began to break through the encryptions in place, Devlin stood behind him and watched for about ten minutes, then spoke up as he asked impatiently, "How long will this take you?"

Without stopping or looking away, Eric answered, "This will take awhile and even I can't rush through the process without messing up the systems or locking myself out. There's nothing more I can do, even with help."

"Fine, just keep working," the man in charge replied sternly. "I'll be leaving my oldest friend behind to make sure you do."

"We'll be fine here," his right hand responded. "I'll just give him another dose if the drugs in him now begin to wear off."

Devlin turned to him as he stated, "Thank you, Archie."

Archie nodded as he answered, "No problem at all."

Meanwhile…

Deeks and Kensi arrived back at the computer store and as they did, they walked inside finding the younger employee that was working the day before during the shootout and Eric's abduction as he was working to finish cleaning the place the best they could, while there were others there working to replace the broken shelves and glass windows. However, as the agents came in, the employee stopped what he was doing and walked over to them.

"You're back," the young man said nervously as he stood before them. "Have you found your friend yet?"

"Not yet, but we will and we think that your boss can help us with that," Deeks replied. "Is he here?"

The employee looked over toward the doorway that leads to the office and storage rooms in the back as he responded, "Yeah, I believe Chris is looking over the inventory right now. I'll go get him."

Deeks shook his head no as he motioned for him to stay quiet, then he and his partner pulled their guns, and headed toward the door. When they walked inside the office, the owner suddenly stood up from behind his desk in surprise, then became nervous as he stared between them and their drawn weapons, and asked, "Agents, is there something more I can do for you? I believe I told you yesterday all I know."

"Actually, you didn't, Mr. Dorn," Kensi answered angrily. "You didn't tell us that you're the reason why Eric was here yesterday, or that you're friends with the men that took him."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Dorn replied, still trying to hide his guilt. "Eric's my friend. I would never…"

Deeks interrupted, "Never betray him? Don't keep trying to lie to us. We know that you lured him here to your store so that your friends could kidnap, and so that you can get a nice payoff from your insurance provider thanks to all the damage done out there. That was the reason why your friends didn't just break into Eric's house to take him."

The owner finally relented as he responded, "Fine. Listen, I only did it because I was desperate. Not only did I need the money, but even more importantly, I wanted to get out from under his thumb. He practically owns me and he said that if I ever could provide him with something of importance to him, then he would let me out from under his employment. I never wanted to hurt Eric. Like I told you before, he was my friend, but… I never wanted this."

"But you did," Kensi said coldly. "You chose to work for this guy initially and you betrayed a good friend for your own thirty pieces of silver. Who is he and where did he and his friends take Eric?

"I don't know where they took Eric, agent," Chris answered as he grew more nervous. "I promise you I don't and I can't tell you who I work for. If I do, he'll kill me."

Deeks spoke up again as he replied, "I promise you, Dorn, if you cooperate with us, we can protect you."

Chris Dorn responded, "You can't protect me from them. You don't know the kind of monsters they are."

"Believe us, we've seen all kinds of monsters and we've arrested or killed a large number of them," Deeks continued. "We've also protected a large number of small time scumbags just like you. If your boss is as bad as you say he is, then I'm guessing that he'll eventually come in here to kill you when he no longer has any use for your services. Wouldn't you prefer to take your chances with us? The only way you can do that, is if you help us save our friend."

"My boss' name is Devlin Fassbender and his right hand is Ryu Kang, who once belonged to the extremely dangerous LA street gang, the Black Dragons," Dorn finally answered despondently.

Kensi looked over at her partner and smiled as she said, "That's our mysterious tattoo guy the kid up front saw in here when they took Eric. We need to let Nell know the names so that she can look them up and we can figure out exactly who we're dealing with. If they're as dangerous as Dorn here says they are, then this Devlin Fassbender will have a large record just like his partner, Kang, does."

Deeks nodded, then turned to Chris in order to cuff him, and led him out to their car as he asked the owner, "What exactly did you tell Devlin about Eric? The cop he has on his payroll was apparently there at the warehouse before and after the shootout and so surely he would have known we had brought in an expert to help with the supercomputer."

"I filled in the gaps and told them that I could draw him out for them," Dorn replied. "It's strange that I happened to be friends with the same friend you brought in to help you. The cop did tell them about Eric, but he had a hard time finding out any information on him. All of you agents must be pretty well protected by whatever agency it is that you work for."

"Eric isn't an agent like us," Kensi responded sadly. "He's an innocent man, who until yesterday had never even fired a gun and now he's been forced to kill a man. You may not have been responsible, but if he dies at your boss' hands, you will be responsible for that and if that happens…"

Her partner continued for her, "If that happens, we won't care about what happens to you then. In fact, we'll pray that you rot in hell."

Kensi spoke up again saying coldly, "It will be the least that you and all of your friends deserve."


	10. Chapter 10

In the Blink of an Eye

Chapter Ten

By the time Kensi and Deeks arrived back at the boat house with the store owner, they found that Sam and Callen were already inside the interrogation room with the dirty cop responsible for helping the mercenaries get their hands back on the supercomputer, right out from LAPD's nose. However, the agents came back out of the room within a few minutes and glared at the man they had questioned the day before at the computer store.

"Chris here has agreed to cooperate fully with us as long as his help leads us to bringing down our scumbags and finding Eric," Deeks spoke up as he removed the blindfold from over the man's eyes, which was used on all of their suspects when bringing them inside so that wouldn't be able to see where they were being taken. "In exchange, we agreed to protect him from them."

"Like most of our suspects, this one's afraid he'll be killed for talking," Kensi added disdainfully as she took him from her partner and escorted him into their second interrogation room, then came back out to stand with the rest of her team. "What a shock."

Sam smiled and then responded, "At least he's agreed to talk, which is more than we can say for our man in the other room."

Callen replied, "That's not surprising either. Dirty cops are very rarely cooperative. Did Dorn there say where his friends took Eric?"

"Unfortunately, he claims he doesn't know and I believe him," Kensi answered. "But he did tell us who his bosses are. We're looking for a man by the name of Devlin Fassbender and his partner, our mysterious tattoo guy, Ryu Kang."

"Sounds like a couple of video game characters from out of Mortal Kombat or something," Callen responded in an almost mocking tone.

Sam looked over at his partner as he asked, "Since when do you play video games, especially one as lame as Mortal Kombat?"

Callen replied, "First of all, Mortal Kombat was great and second, I don't still play video games, unless I'm questioning a kid, or something, not that any of this even matters. We need to get these names to Ne…"

"That is already taken care of, Mr. Callen," Hetty spoke up as she walked into the boathouse to join her team she had carefully put together. "Nell is researching them as we speak, though I doubt she'll find much on either one of them, least of all this Devlin Fassbender."

"We gave Hetty and Nell a call as soon as we got their names," Deeks answered when his teammates looked over at him. "Dorn was nervous as hell when he gave them up. My gut's telling me that taking them down is going to be near impossible."

Sam responded, "So, what else is new?"

Hetty spoke again as she said, "Our first priority is to save Eric. Then, we can deal with our Mortal Kombat fighters. We just need to get as much information from our two suspects as possible. Mr. Deeks and Miss. Blye, why don't the two of you continue working with Mr. Dorn in there, while Mr. Callen, Mr. Hanna, and I continue dealing with Officer Kitchell."

"Sounds like a plan," Kensi replied, then stepped away as he walked into the interrogation room where their suspect was waiting for them, followed quickly by Deeks.

"Exactly, what do you have in mind for our suspect, Hetty?" Sam asked once they were gone. "He doesn't like us and I really don't think he's going to like you much more."

Hetty just walked into the interrogation room and when she sat across from the man, as Callen and Sam stood behind her, the LAPD officer spoke up as he asked, "So, you're the woman in charge here. You're not exactly what I was expecting and your headquarters here are a bit unorthodox. I like it though. Let me guess, you're here because you have a different approach for getting me to talk?"

She smiled as she took a seat across from him and then answered, "No, I just plan to ask you a few more questions, in hope of getting to know you a little more."

"I see," Kitchell responded. "I really have nothing more to say. I already told your agents all I'm willing to say and if you are hoping that I'll tell you where your beach bum, computer geek is, you're in for disappointment. I believe he's still alive for now, but he won't be by the time you find him."

"And why is that?" Hetty continued. "At least tell us what your friends have planned for him."

Kitchell smiled as he replied, "He's helping my friends, as you call them, encrypt the information from the supercomputer just like the engineer was doing before your little friend shot and killed him. It's only fair that he take his place."

Callen spoke up saying, "Eric would never agree to help you, knowing that whatever you're looking for on that machine will lead to the loss of a number of innocent lives. What did you threaten him with?"

"We didn't have to," Kitchell answered. "He's just helping us."

"You're lying," Sam responded coldly. "What did you do to him?"

The cop only smiled and then replied, "I'll leave that up to your imaginations. Now, as I've already told you, I was at the warehouse during the shootout and watched your friend kill Calder. I remained behind after my friends fled in order to avoid getting caught by my fellow teammates. I was able to blend right in with them. I have to admit, I wasn't expecting to get caught, especially so quickly."

Hetty spoke up again as she answered, "You were caught so quickly because that beach bum, computer geek, as you called him, found you out and managed to get a message to us as he was being kidnapped by your mercenary friends. Before, he was looking into Calder and ran across the surveillance footage of you arguing with him at his lab. He also came across a check that was signed, by you, with your initials, then given to Calder, which I'm guessing, was a payoff for the engineer's services. You're sunk. Eric Beale is a very valuable asset to NCIS and is a very dear friend of ours. I assure you that if he dies…"

"Threaten me all you want, lady, but if you think that your threats are going to help you at all, then you're sorely mistaken," Kitchell interrupted angrily. "You can't touch me because soon, my old boss at the LAPD, Sergeant Williams, will be here to get me out of here. I may have lost my job, but she won't want my betrayal to destroy her's or the department's image and so she'll do whatever she can to protect me from agents like you."

"I wouldn't bet on it," Hetty said frigidly. "You see, I've spoken to your boss and though she was a little uneasy about turning you over to us fully, she eventually agreed that it is the least that you deserve for betraying the oath to protect our country and its people that you once stood for. You're through being an officer of the law, but the more information you offer us, the better off you will be in the end. I promise you that. Now, are you willing to change your mind about cooperating?"


	11. Chapter 11

In the Blink of an Eye

Chapter Eleven

Nell sat alone inside the ops center as she searched all the databases for any information on the men responsible for kidnapping her partner and friend. When Kensi had called her to give her the names, she had told her that she suspected there would most likely be quite the records on each of them, but so far, Nell has been unable to find out anything on either Devlin Fassbender or Ryu Kang.

Nate walked into the room just as Nell suddenly banged her fists down on the computer's keyboard and cried out angrily. The psychologist slowly walked over and sat down in the chair that was usually occupied by Eric, which startled Nell, then she placed her head down in her hands in frustration without saying a word.

Nate spoke softly as he said, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

She moved her hands away and then continued searching the databases as she replied, "You didn't. I was just… I was just trying to do my job so that we can find Eric, but so far, nothing is coming up. I mean, these two are ghosts and I'm getting frustrated. Surely, there must be a record for them out there somewhere. If Eric was here…"

"If Eric was here, he would only tell you that you can do this," Nate answered after she cut herself off. "You can. You're only allowing your worry and fear for your friend get in your way of doing what you do best."

"I know," she responded quietly. "I have always been really good at this, but I'm better when I'm with Eric. I never thought I needed any help, especially when Hetty told me that I would be working with a happy-go-lucky, eccentric, computer geek like him. I didn't like him at first, but… Eric grew on me rather quickly. He needs me to find these guys. He's depending on me to find them. What if I can't and Hetty and the others can't get our suspects to talk?"

Nate replied, "Hetty only hires the best to work for her and the reason why she hired you to work here alongside him is because you are just as skilled as he is. You will find him in time, Nell. I'm sure of it."

She turned to look at the team's old friend and answered, "Thank you, Nate. You know, sometimes I wish you were still working here. I'm sure the team made it difficult for you to do your job most of the time, but I get why you're needed. You make us all feel better."

"That's good to hear," Nate responded as he smiled. "Just mention that to the others every once in awhile. I think they'd disagree with you."

"They only pretend to dislike you," Nell replied as she began to run her fingers over her keys again to continue her work. "I think you'd be surprised to know that they miss you being here too."

He was about to say something until Nell suddenly cried out happily, "Yes, I think I've found them! I mean, at least one of them. Nate, you're the best."

He looked up at the screens as he quickly asked, "What have you got?"

"Ryu Kang, was a member of the Black Dragons street gang back in the early 80's and quickly worked his way up to become the leader's right hand until the guy was found dead in his apartment complex," she answered. "I sent a message to an old friend of mine who works for the FBI and he finally got back to me with this information. The cause of death was a knife to the gut. It appears that Kang was suspected of killing his boss himself, but then it was later disproved due to new evidence that suddenly appeared. It looks like a frame up job. A short time later, Kang's record was sealed after he disappeared, which explains why I haven't been able to find anything on him until now. I'm not sure how my friend got his hands on this information, but…"

"It's a good thing that he did," Nate finished for her. "Now, Kang is back and he once again is working under another boss, this Devlin Fassbender. Your friend couldn't find anything on him?"

Nell responded in frustration, "No, unfortunately not and unfortunately, there's no more information on Kang either."

It was then that Hetty and the four agents walked into the ops center as well, then Hetty spoke up asking, "Have you found out anything on our two mystery men, Miss. Jones?"

"We found a little bit on Ryu Kang, but nothing of real help to us right now," the youngest member of the team replied. "He was suspected of killing his old boss, but was cleared of the charges after new evidence pointing to someone else appeared, then disappeared a short time later. Now, he's back and working under someone new."

"What about this, Devlin?" Deeks asked.

Nell turned to look between her friends as she answered, "He's a complete ghost. It's like he doesn't exist."

Kensi responded, "Or he's changed his name to avoid people like us from looking into him."

"What about the suspects you guys have in custody?" Nate asked Hetty and the others. "Were they able to give you anything to help us?"

"Kitchell refused to give us anything and Dorn sang like a bird, but unfortunately, he couldn't tell us anything that can help us find Eric," Callen replied in frustration. "If we can manage to find either Kang or Fassbender, we've got a lot of things we can charge them with, but…"

It was then that Nell suddenly interrupted, "I don't know if this will help you, but the apartment complex where Kang's old boss was killed, it is still up, but is extremely worn down and is filled with drug addicts, stoners, and gang members. Very few decent people live there and there's a car garage no longer in service that used to serve as a chop shop right next door until it was closed down by the police. Either place could be the perfect place to hide themselves, Eric, and a giant supercomputer now."

Sam said, "It's the best lead we've got. Good work, Nell. If Eric's there, we'll get him back."


	12. Chapter 12

In the Blink of an Eye

Chapter Twelve

Hours passed by since Eric had begun working on the encryption and the longer it took for the young man to do so, the more impatient his captors were growing. Over an hour ago, Kang suspected that Eric was slowing down because the scopolamine in his system had begun to wear off and so to make sure that he remained under their control, Kang injected more of the drug, once again into the crook of his arm. Doing so slowed Eric down even more, as it took time for the drug to take effect, but now NCIS' tech operator was finally working again like he had first begun.

Most of Devlin's men had returned from whatever tasks their boss had sent them on and the room was once again filled with a number of heavily armed mercenaries, who were all settling in to relax until something more came up. When Devlin came back, he walked over to stand in front of his right hand as he began to argue with him until he finally stopped, then came over to Eric.

"We're running out of time," he said angrily as he stood over the younger man. "I need the names I've asked for now."

"I'm working as fast as I can," Eric answered flatly. "I've told you this is going to take time."

Devlin looked closer at him in order to see if there was any sign of deception showing in his eyes, then when he found none, he responded, "If you don't finish within the next hour, our men are dead. If that happens, then you will be dead too. Finish the encryption. Do I make myself clear?"

Eric nodded and then replied, "I understand what you want. I'll keep working."

"Good," Devlin answered, then turned to look at his friend again. "If he finishes the encryption in time and you complete your task in rescuing our friends that are still alive, then I want you to continue seeking out the rest of the Navy's operatives, and take the rest of them out. The Navy will pay for killing those of us they've allowed to suffer and die needlessly while under their services."

"You have my word," Kang responded. "And when the computer tech is finished?"

Devlin looked over at Eric, then back at his friend, and replied quietly so that only Kang could hear, "Do with him whatever you like. I just want him dead. Oh, and I need you to send men to take care of Kitchell and Dorn. I've learned that they've both been arrested. Kitchell won't talk, but I want him dead nonetheless. All loose ends must be tied up."

Kang smiled as he answered, "It's already being taken care of as we speak. I've already been alerted to the situation. Once they leave wherever they're currently being held for questioning and resurface, it will be done."

"I'm certainly glad you've come back, Ryu," Devlin responded. "None of the other men have ever measured up to your skills and loyalty."

"You saved my life and kept me from rotting in prison for the rest of my life," the ex Black Dragon replied. "I'm glad I can be here for all of this too."

It was then that there was suddenly an eruption of gunfire coming from outside the building the mercenaries were currently holed up in. Devlin and Kang shouted out for their men to fire back, not caring who the intruders were, and it wasn't long before they discovered that NCIS and the LAPD had somehow managed to find them.

Kang, Devlin, and at least five other men remained inside to guard over Eric and the computer, while the battle continued around them. Eric didn't even flinch as he continued typing away per Devlin's and Kang's orders, nor did he stop when the familiar voices of his friends sounded from behind him, as three of the five men were shot down and the rest faced off against four very angry looking NCIS agents, their guns raised high. Unfortunately, the remaining mercenaries remained between them and their friend.

Callen spoke first as he called out, "You know who we are and why we're here, Devlin. I suggest you and your men let our friend go unless you want to end up like those dead on the ground around you."

Devlin smiled as he stated, "We have no problem dying for our cause."

"And we have no problem with killing cops or agents like you," Kang answered and then aimed his gun directly at Eric's head. "Nor do we have a problem with putting a bullet in your friend. He'll be dead before you can take another shot. What we do next is all up to you."

"Actually, I have a better idea," Devlin responded as he placed his hand over Eric's to stop him from typing, then lifted him up by grabbing his shirt, placed a gun in his hand, and helped him aim it in the direction of the agents. "Eric, I want you to keep this trained on your friends here. Kill the woman if they move."

Each of the agents stared at their friend in confusion and with worry as they could see that he was not himself, then Kensi lifted her weapon higher toward Devlin and Kang, as she glared at them and asked, "What the hell did you do to him?"

Fassbender smiled and replied, "I'm sure that somewhere in your line of work you've come across a little drug known as scopolamine. It's a very clever tool when wanting cooperation from your enemy."

"Eric, if you can hear me, we're going to get you out of this mess," Sam said calmly as he continued to glare at the criminals before them.

"Why go through all of this?" Deeks asked. "What exactly are you after?"

Devlin looked over at Eric and then back at the agents as he answered smugly, "You'll never know. Mr. Beale, change your gun's direction. Point the barrel at your own head and pull the trigger."

Kensi, Deeks, and Sam all cried out in fear for their friend until all of a sudden, Callen swiftly fired his own weapon directly at Eric, the bullet lodging itself deep into Eric's left shoulder and causing their friend to collapse to the floor unconscious. Despite the shock of what their teammate had just done, the other agents just as swiftly fired upon the rest of the mercenaries, using the brief moment of distraction to their advantage to take them out.

Ryu moved in front of Devlin to protect him as the fight erupted, then took a bullet in his arm, fired by Kensi before she rushed over to Eric. Devlin managed to break away as the rest of the men fell around him, though Deeks and Sam quickly took off after him, as Callen ran over to fight against Kang, who fought as fiercely his old gang's name implied. The fight was difficult, but in the end, Callen was the victor, as he finally knocked Kang down using a broom handle lying nearby to render him unconscious, then rushed over to help Kensi fight to save Eric.

As she was holding her hands firmly over Eric's wound, his blood trickling out heavily from between her fingers, at first all Callen could do was stare at what he had just done, but he snapped out of his own shock as he quickly pulled out his phone and called for an ambulance while the fight between the rest of Devlin's team and the LAPD slowly ended and the majority of the mercenaries were dead on the ground as well. The rest still alive were currently being arrested.

Sam and Deeks finally came running back into the room and seethed in anger toward the men responsible for their friend's condition as they observed their partners fighting to keep Eric alive until the paramedics arrived. Slowly, Eric reawakened when Kensi's pressure tightened and the younger man fearfully tried to focus on his friends in confusion as a tear slipped down from the corner of his eye. Then, his eyes closed once again as the pain increased drastically and flooded his senses.

Callen gently placed one hand on top of Eric's chest and the other on the side of his face and neck, then spoke up softly saying, "Everything's going to be all right, Eric. You're going to be all right. We're here now. Just hold on."

"That's right," Kensi added as Deeks came over and knelt down as he began to work on breaking Eric's leg free from the shackle the mercenaries had cuffed on him. "You need to stay with us because we need you. We all need you."

Late in the middle of the night…

Nell, the agents, Nate, and Hetty all had gathered in the waiting room at the hospital shortly after Eric was brought in, then took a seat while they waited in fear for the doctors to come out and explain to them of their friend's condition. Everyone remained close together for comfort, except for Callen, who had walked off to stand on his own. Hetty noticed this and then walked away to find her agent who had no first name. She observed his mood for a few moments and then finally came over to speak with him.

"I would think you would prefer to stand with the rest of your team at this troublesome time, Mr. Callen," Hetty spoke up softly.

He shook his head as he responded, "I can't do that right now, Hetty."

Already knowing the answer, she asked, "And why is that?"

"Eric killed a man yesterday to save my life and in return, I shot him," Callen replied angrily. "Now he's fighting for his life because of me. This is my fault."

"From what I understand, you saved his life," she answered with a nod. "If you hadn't have done what you did, Eric would have died in that old car garage for sure."

Callen finally looked back at her as he spoke again angrily, "He still might and if he does, it will be because of my bullet and god knows however much of that drug those bastards dosed him with. I know it was the right call, Hetty, but what if he won't see it that way? What if he dies, before I have the chance to apologize? We should have known Eric could have been in danger the moment he shot Calder. If we did, none of this would have happened."

Hetty looked down somberly and then looked back up at her agent as she responded, "If Eric should remember all that has happened, I believe that he will truly understand and be grateful that you acted as you did. He knows what was at stake. As I am sure you must have realized by now, Eric has been feeling the same way as you, but for shooting a complete stranger and an evil man. When he wakes, you and he shall have a lot to talk about and that conversation just may be the very conversation needed to draw him back to where he belongs."

"And if he doesn't wake up?" he asked again.

"I have to believe that he will, Mr. Callen," Hetty replied firmly. "Eric Beale is much stronger than he appears."

Callen nodded and then said, "He's proven that on more than one occasion, especially today. I'm just sorry that none of us besides you and Nell have ever seen it before all this happened."

Hetty smiled and then stated, "What's important is that you all realize it now."

Six hours after Eric was brought into the emergency room, the doctors finally came out with news regarding the condition of their friend. The wound in his shoulder was extensive and he had lost a lot of blood, but they deemed confidant that they would be able to repair the damage and that Eric should recover in time.

As for the drug, the doctors found very little left inside his system once the agents had let them know exactly what to look for, as scopolamine didn't normally show up on any toxicology report unless it was brought to the doctors' attentions, and encouraged them that it shouldn't have any long lasting effects.

Nell sat beside Eric's bed over the next three nights, where she had been pretty much ever since he had been admitted to the ICU, with her hand resting on top of his free one, as his left arm was up inside a sling. The only time she wasn't with him was when her friends encouraged her to go home and get some sleep and something to eat. Hetty and the rest of their team, including Nate, had been in and out, but it was on the fourth night, a night that Nell was with him alone, when Eric's hand finally twitched beneath hers and he slowly began to wake. The movement startled her.

"Eric!" she cried as she stood over him and gently placed her hand on the side of face to let him know that he wasn't alone. "Oh, thank god! It's all right now. It's all over. You're safe now."

"Safe… from what?" Eric asked groggily after he finally, slowly opened his eyes and worked to focus on where the voice of his best friend was coming from. "Nell?"

She answered, "Yeah, it's me. I'm so glad you're all right now. I've been worried sick. Oh, here are your glasses. You might be able to see better with them on again."

After she helped him put his glasses back in place, he looked around the room and then stared back at her in confusion as he asked softly, "What am I doing in a hospital bed? And why… why does my shoulder hurt? What happened?"

"Do you not remember?" Nell asked in worry, not remembering until then that one of the side effects of the scopolamine was also short term memory loss.

"I remem… remember killing a man, but… that's it… I think," he responded and continued staring at her in fear. "What aren't you telling me?"

It was then that Hetty slowly walked into the room as she replied, "What happened is a very long story, Mr. Beale. One that we will share with you in time, but right now, you should rest. You have been through hell over the last few days. We'll be here for you when you wake again."

Eric didn't have the strength to argue as he slowly did fall asleep again, while keeping a tight hold of Nell's hand. The team finally told Eric the truth of what happened a few days later once Eric was feeling better. The last thing he remembered ended up being that he had quit. He didn't remember researching Mitch Calder from home, meeting up with the friend who had betrayed him, and he didn't remember being kidnapped by Devlin's men, or being shot by Callen. Eric was shocked by the revelation, but didn't appear to be angry at anyone. He just remained despondent as he asked them all to leave the room so that he could sort all of what he had been told out.

However, Callen remained behind so that he could have the conversation Hetty had told him he needed to have with the younger man and when Eric finally looked over at him, Callen spoke up saying, "I'm so sorry… sorry that I…"

"Shot me?" Eric cut in when the agent couldn't seem to get the words out. "It's all right. It sounds like you saved my life."

"It was the fastest thing I could think of," Callen continued, but then stopped when he saw Eric look away, knowing that he was ashamed of everything since he had shot and killed the engineer. "You can't blame yourself for any of this, Eric. Not for killing a man to save me, not for getting kidnapped, and certainly not for helping a group of terrorists. You had no power over what you were doing."

Without looking back at him, Eric answered remorsefully, "Not only could I have killed you or one of the others that day at the warehouse when I took that shot, but I also could have gotten a number of innocent people killed if you guys hadn't have shown up when you did. I would never have been able to live with myself if that happened."

Callen responded, "And none of that did happen. We stopped those men and you didn't shoot us. In fact, that shot was perfect. And now, Devlin, Kang, and the rest of their men still alive are in prison where they'll remain for the rest of their lives, however short that might be. A lot of that is thanks to you."

"I appreciate the encouragement, but it's going to take time for me to process all of this," Eric replied as he finally looked back over at his friend. "I appreciate that you all told me the truth, but…"

"We told you the truth because it was the right thing to do and we didn't want you to begin to remember any of this on your own," Callen answered. "In time, you'll come to realize that you did nothing wrong. In fact, you helped us bring down them all down. If you hadn't have done all that research on Calder or left us that message while you were being kidnapped, we wouldn't have gotten the information we needed on the men responsible for this mess. There's a reason why you're a part of our team, Eric. You're the best at what you do. I mean, who else can shut down the entire internet, besides you? That was incredible! Nell was certainly impressed and so were we. I'm just sorry that we haven't told you sooner how important you are to our team. Please, don't quit on us."

Four and a half weeks later, the team was working on another case involving the death of a naval lieutenant. They didn't have much information to go on, even though they had a number of suspects. Nell worked hard to gather the information on everyone involved, but she wasn't faring as well as she usually did and she, as well as the rest of the team, knew why.

They were missing their friend until one day, Eric suddenly walked back into the ops center as he said, "What do you want to bet the wife did it?"

Everyone turned in surprise at the sound of Eric's voice, and looked at him happily, then Nell suddenly ran up to him, kissed him deeply on his lips, and finally responded shyly, "You're back; I mean, I knew you would be."

"Yeah, I couldn't really stay away," Eric replied as he stared at Nell in shock over her kiss, while the others in the room just smiled, all thinking that it was about time. "I uh… I was reminded that I was a part of a team. I hope that I still can be."

"Of course you are, Mr. Beale," Hetty answered as she smiled, then looked at him sternly. "However, you should still be at home recovering. Your six weeks of leave are not through yet."

The young tech operator finally looked between his friends, then at the woman who hired him as he responded, "Yeah, I know, but… I… I was getting restless at home. I wasn't sure if I could do this anymore, but I realized that if I don't, I'd hate myself even more. It'll still take me some time to… to…"

Hetty walked over to stand in front of him, then held out her hand, and smiled as she replied, "Welcome back, Mr. Beale. Whatever took you so long?"

The End


	13. Thank You

Thank you to all of those who have written reviews for my stories! They are much appreciated. I am honored to have you all for fans and I hope to hear from you all again in the future, should you choose to read and enjoy more of my work. Best of wishes to you all!

Sincerely,

Genevieve Kelly


End file.
